Life As We Know It: Goodwill Shopping

As many of you may know, I absolutely L.O.V.E. shopping at Goodwill. I was introduced to Goodwill shopping by my sister in law several years ago. I've been hooked ever since. If you don't shop at Goodwill or stores like it, I strongly encourage you to give it a try. You never know what you will find. I know that the task of going through racks and racks of clothing may look and sound daunting, but I promise you that not only is it well worth it... It's also not that bad. Here's a few tips to help you out.

1) Always look at the board when you first walk in the door. This will tell you what sales they have that day. (i.e. If the sales sales all Blue tags are 1/2 off- then you know that anything that has a blue tag is 1/2 off the price... this sometimes means that you can get kid clothing (0-2t) for .50 cents!)

2) Never go in expecting to find a "certain" something. More than likely you will be disappointed. Also, don't get discouraged if you go in and find nothing. Goodwill is always hit & miss. Some days I'll go in and leave with $50 worth of things. Other days, I'll leave with nothing. All Goodwill stores are different. There are some really nice stores and there's some that just aren't worth it. Try them out. You'll quickly discover which ones are worth it!

3) Depending on what you are looking for (toys, clothes, houseware items) go to that department first. I like to look at the toys and houseware items first. A lot of my boys' toys came from Goodwill. You can find A LOT of toys that are like brand new for less than $5. (See pics below) I've also gotten a new BRITA pitcher (after mine fell and shattered) for $2!

4) Know the prices of things. If you don't know, ask! Most racks and shelves will have a BLUE sign stating the price of those items. All of the items will be this price unless they have a tag on them with a different price or if they have a different price written on the tag inside the item.

5) CHILDREN'S Books are CHEAP! I mean DIRT CHEAP! Paperback children's books are .30 cents and Hardbacks are .50 cents! Seriously, it doesn't get better than this. While I was pregnant with Gabe and buying books for him- I ALWAYS found my BEST deals at Goodwill! I got a TON of Dr. Seuss books for .50 cents. I also found his favorite book "Guess How Much I Love You" for .50! People, this book retails for $16.00 at Target! :) Mom just found "The Very Hungry Caterpillar there a few days ago for .50 cents! You just can't beat these prices for quality books. Plus, we all know how important it is to read to you kids!

6) Look through the shelves and racks carefully. You may have to dig, but you just might find something you love! Typically, most of the shelves and racks are organized fairly well. If you get lucky and go to a REALLY nice Goodwill, you'll find that everything is organized by size as well as department. However, most are not like that. You will really have to "hunt" through the toys, stuffed animals, etc. I found several stuffed animals, a hippo and whale, for $1.00 each for Gabe and Lincoln. I knew these were good deals because they are the ones that Kohls sold a while back. They still had the Kohl's tags on them. I also found Lincoln a TY Beanie Monkey for Christmas. It was washable- so I tossed it in the washing machine to make sure it was extra clean. So, don't be afraid to dig!

7) One of the best kept secrets... ok, maybe it's not a secret- but it's something to know... is that Target donates a majority of their things to Goodwill! You will typically see clothes, houseware items, and toys from Target (with the tags from Target still on them). This past week I found a cute dress for our anniversary, yoga pants, and a cardigan sweater- all BRAND NEW from Target. (see the pics and prices that I paid below!)

8) ALWAYS look in the glass cases! This is where they keep the more expensive items such as name brand purses, video games, etc. Again, this past week I found an Otterbox for my iPhone (like brand new) for $3! You can't beat that! Those cases range from $40-50 New!

9) Give yourself plenty of time to shop! On the occasion that I get to go "kid-free" I like to spend my time going slowly through the store. I usually pick up anything that I like and throw it in my cart. Then before checking out I'll do the usual "Do I really need this?" test. That way, I don't buy too much and I get what I want. Shopping at Goodwill isn't something you can do in 10 minutes!

10) Again, YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU WILL FIND! Some of the boys' favorite toys and my favorite things came from Goodwill. I found Lincoln's bedding set there for $20 brand new! My mom and dad found Lincoln's bed - like new- for $50. It's almost identical to Gabe's bed- and we paid $200 for it! I've found several of my favorite water bottles there for $2!

So, there you have it... some of my best tips for shopping at Goodwill! I have A LOT more but we'll save those for another day. Now, here's some pics of some of our most recent finds at Goodwill!